Amazon / Goodreads
A Kiss For Emily is about seventeen year old high school student, Emily. Emily has a big crush on her friend Alex and has been patiently waiting for him to ask her to the prom. Unfortunately, her parents decide to move her family out to a rural part of Kansas. Frustrated with Alex's mixed signals and having to now go to a new school, Emily decides to take a simple walk in the woods around her new country home. Emily discovers that there is more than just woods surrounding her home.
I am so happy that I am apart of this tour. I absolutely devoured A Kiss For Emily in one sitting. This was an excellent and refreshing read. The characters were well written and the story was fantastic. I enjoyed the historic aspect and the chemistry between Emily and Sam was perfect. J.P. Galuska is a wonderful writer and I can't wait to read the next book in this series!
5 out of 5 stars- highly recommend to young adults and older!
**at the END of this post is a e-book rafflecopter giveaway- this is open to anyone who can receive an e-book**
There is also a U.S. giveaway at
http://darkmindbooktours.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/kiss-for-emily-now-on-tour.html for signed printed copy + swag
Q&A With J.P. Galuska
Hi JP, Thank you so much for interviewing with me today.
Thanks for
having me, Brianne. You have a great blog! And thanks for the friend request on
Goodreads. How long did it take to read 1811 books anyway?
*Thank you so much, actually I dont think ive read 1811 books yet, alot of those might be my "to-read" wishlist lol but im working on it!*
Well, today is
day three of the tour and I'm excited to give away
another free eBook to one of your viewers!
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I'm
not sure where the years went, but I'm already in my 40's! Gad! I loved going to
college, ended up receiving my master's degree, but didn't care for office
politics so I've continued to work odd jobs that allow me to be home with the
children before and after school. I'd say I've been pretty
fortunate.
What inspired you to be an author?
My kids and I went to a school rummage sale and my youngest picked out a
book bag for me. Out of a mother's love, I accepted the gift warmly. On it was
the quote, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've
imagined." - Thoreau. But reading that made me realize that my life was rather
stagnant at the time. Being a mom is great, but sometimes it can lead to "a loss
of self" which is a whole-'nother boring story. Nevertheless, it got my wheels
turning. About a year later, the job market crashed, I was out of a job, so I
turned to my computer and the little curser blinking on a blank screen.
Obviously, it didn't stay blank for long.
I absolutely LOVED A Kiss for Emily, where did the idea come from?
I'm so glad you enjoyed my book! Hearing compliments
fills me with warm fuzzies. I'd have to say that I've always been a pretty
creative person, but I really believe that I get my talents from "the man
upstairs." I've had some people question how God could possible inspire a ghost
story... This is what I have to say - the Bible is filled with all sort of crazy
stuff like turning water into blood, raising people from the dead, and being
swallowed by a fish. I think God enjoys a good story as much as the next reader.
:D
What project are you working on now?
I
am currently in the middle of the second book in the Emily Stokes Series, A Gift
for Emily. Since so many people have told me how much they've enjoyed the A Kiss
for Emily, I'm really feeling the pressure to put out another book that is
equally as good, if not better. I have the entire draft written out and I can
tell you that the ending leaves me with goosebumps. I'm sooooo pumped!
What do you do when you're not writing?
OMG! My day is nonstop. It starts at 5:27am when I wake up my oldest child.
After breakfast, I kiss them all good-day and start on my blog, tweets, and
emails. About 3 hours later, I start on the novel. By 1pm, I head over to my
mom's house to fix her lunch and keep her company. She's 83 and not well.
Naturally she doesn't want to end up in a nursing home so I'm trying to keep
that from happening. My family and I hang out there until about 9pm. During that
time, we're also birding, landscaping, gardening...having fun in the outdoors.
Life is too short not to enjoy it!
What is best writing advice you can give?
I
just so happen to tweet advise under #amwriting and #amediting most days. Please
check it out @JGaluska. In addition to that, I recommend joining a small
writers' group of about four people who can meet weekly and aren't afraid to
really critique each other's work. It's great to hear complements, but the
corrections make it better. I also recommend the book, "Thanks,
but this isn't for us," by Jessica Page Morrell
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
I know some of you will cringe reading this...black licorice. Yes! There really
is that flavor of ice cream and it's very difficult to find. Plus, not all of it
is very tasty. When we had a Baskin' Robins in town, I'd get it there. Now we
drive just about an hour (one-way) to Wabasha, MN where they have it shipped in
from Tim's out of Eau Clair, Wisconsin. Here's a hint to really good flavor: the
blacker, the better!
Thanks again,
Brianne. And everyone else who's taken the time to stop by and read today's
interview. Please feel free to leave a comment or question, or even post a
comment on my author page. Good luck at winning the eBook!
Excerpt-
"After a good
brushing and other bedtime rituals, I headed back to my bedroom. On the way, I
noticed a dim glow coming from Kat's room.
"Are you still
up?"
"Yeah, I'm not
tired." She was watching a video on a small TV that sat upon her
dresser.
"Guess what?" I
taunted.
"You hit your
head and now you don't remember who you are."
"Whatever," I
sneered. "I met someone today." I whispered, almost like it was a
secret.
"Kat sat up in
her bed. "Who?"
"His name is
Sam. Come here, I want to show you something. He have me a flower." I grabbed
her small hand and pulled her out from under her quilted bedspread. Grabbing my
shirt from the back of my desk chair, I reached into the pocket to retrieve the
delicate red bud from its place of safety. Only there were no soft petals.
Instead, I felt...grit. I pulled the pocket open wide and peered into its
depths. It was filled with dark, dry dirt.
"That's
strange."
"What
is?"
"I must have
lost it," I said disappointingly, shaking the dirt out into the wastebasket.
"It's just a
stupid flower."
"And you're too
little to understand."
She crossed her
arms. "All right, tell me more."
"He's the cutest
guy I've ever seen in my life. No one at T-West even begins to hold a candle
next to him."
"Oh," she said.
Then added, "Did ya kiss him?"
I imagined him
and me in a romantic first kiss. "No."
Her eyes
dimmed.
"But I'd like
to."
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